In mesh networks, such as networks operating according to the IEEE 802.11s standard, handsets, such as mobile phones, operating as stations in the network often operate in a mesh mode wherein they may act as repeaters for other stations' communications. This drains the battery of the repeating station. The power consumption in mesh mode is less than in active mode, but higher than in standby mode.
A handset running out of power will no longer be able to operate as a repeater which will significantly affect the mesh network architecture and potentially lead to some stations being isolated. It will also lead to an increased risk of interrupted communications.
It is therefore important to reduce the power consumption of a station so that it lasts as long as possible.
It is common that a station tries to provide as high a signal quality as possible by transmitting at a high power output. However, this high power output is often unnecessary as the signal quality received may be adequate and/or there are no other units that are far enough away from the station to actually benefit from the high output. For example a station transmitting at 100 mW allows for a range of about 100 m. However, if the furthest station away is only 50 m away the output power of 100 mW is unnecessarily high and may be reduced. Path loss in free space (for a given frequency) gives that a reduction in output power of 6 dB will give a range reduction by factor 2. For comparison, a transmit power of 100 mW equals +20 dBm and 500 mw equals +27 dBm. The power may thus be reduced by a factor of 4, while only reducing the range by a factor of 2.
Furthermore, transmitting at a too high power output also induces unnecessary interference in the mesh network as well as battery drain. The increased interference will also lead to a decreased network capacity and the battery drain is thus in vain as it is in fact hurting the quality of service in the mesh network, instead of helping it.
There is thus a need for a method and a station that enables for a stable communication network to be maintained and which provides a high quality of service without draining too much battery.